The Cost of Revenge
by NeverAgain03
Summary: I finally had him, the father I had dreamed of. Everything was fine until someone from our past appeared. Stryker, the man responsible for my mothers death and my fathers memory loss, was back. I wanted revenge but I wasn't prepared for what it would cost. Sequel to Forgotten Memories.
1. Chapter 1

_This is the sequel to my first X-Men story: Forgotten Memories. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed that story. I hope you enjoy the sequel!_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own X-Men. Only Morgan.

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**Morgan POV**

Museums. Uh, I hate them.

I had only been to one before and that trip had been a disaster. My orphanage had taken us to our local museum...well, it was more a small building with a few stuffed animals. It had been excruciatingly boring until one of the younger kids had made the mistake of trying to talk to an adult and tell them they were being beaten. All of the older kids knew not to even bother trying to alert someone. The teachers managed to sweet talk anyone who suspected anything.

We had all been beaten that night and that had been the last of our trips.

So when Storm had announced that the school was taking a trip to the museum, I didn't get excited...nor did anyone else. I had hoped in the 10 years since I had been to a museum they might have suddenly become interesting, but as I dragged my feet behind the class, I realised they were as boring as ever.

It has been 2 months since I ran away from the orphanage, found my dad and started studying at Xavier's school for gifted youngsters. I couldn't believe how much could change in such a short time. Instead of just dreaming about a dad, I actually had one now. And he loved me, even though he can't remember the woman he made me with. It wasn't his fault though. After being hit with an adamantium bullet, he could only remember the past 17 years of his life. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was that he had accepted me and loved me. It was all I had ever wanted.

During the 2 months we've had together, we'd grown closer than I could have ever imaged. But I suppose a near death experience does draw people together. After dad had rescued me from Magneto's clutches, he had tried being the father he thought I deserved. I appreciated his efforts but I could tell he was still scared at the idea of being a father.

It's been nearly a month since he left to find answers about a past he couldn't remember. He always calls at least 3 times a week to check up on me. It was hard hearing his voice and not being able to hug him. But he would be back…he promised.

I sighed and dug my hands into the pockets of my favourite torn jeans. I needed to stop worrying about when or even if dad was coming back.

I looked around the class and saw most of the kids wearing expressions of boredom as we followed Storm through a maze of stuffed animals and glass cabinets full of old artefacts. I looked over my shoulder and saw my three friends with similar expressions.

"Come on, let's ditch. This is boring," John said as he flicked his lighter open and closed, an annoying habit of his.

"Yeah, I'm hungry. Let's go," I said.

I checked to make sure Storm had her back turned before John, Bobby, Rouge and I ducked behind a large elephant. Bobby and Rouge led the way, with Bobby clutching Rouge's covered hand, while John and I trailed behind.

I watched Rouge walk ahead of me and thought about how much she had changed in 2 months. She still wore clothes that covered much of her skin but they had become tighter and bolder. Her shelf in our room was filled with hair products, makeup and jewellery. But she hadn't just changed on the outside. She had grown into herself. She had become more comfortable and confident. And a much better roommate.

I smiled as I ordered large fries to share while Rouge, Bobby and John found seats. I wondered if Rouge's changes had anything to do with Bobby. Each day they grew closer. I could see the happiness in their eyes when they looked at each other. He was good for her. He liked her for who she was and didn't care that her mutation prevented them from physical contact.

Since Rouge was becoming my best friend, I had gotten to know Bobby well, as they were together so often. He was one of the funniest people I have met and very sweet, especially towards Rouge. He was great to hang out with. And he had let me mimic his mutation and even taught me the basics to it.

And then there was John.

He was best friends with Bobby and thus friends with Rouge and I. I was often left wondering how Bobby and he were such good friends considering how opposite they were. While Bobby was sweet and friendly, John was often sarcastic and cruel to other students. But then sometimes he flipped around and became someone I could actually have an intelligent conversation with. And he too had let me mimic his mutation, though I had only done it because I had mimicked Bobby's and didn't want John to think I didn't want his mutation. Truth was, I didn't care for his mutation. Fire was a destroyer. Nothing good could come from flames.

Bobby and Rouge often went off together, leaving John and I alone. At first I hadn't liked him but he had grown and me. And I on him. Honestly I thought he kind of liked me but I wouldn't go there. He was just a friend.

"Fries?" I asked as I sat down beside John and placed the fries on the table.

"Please," Rouge answered. "I honestly didn't know there was a place on Earth as boring as this museum," Rouge said, nibbling on the end of a chip.

"I know..." Bobby began.

I began tuning out of the conversation as my eyes scanned the crowd. I was surprised at how busy the place was. Mothers rushed by clutching their children's hand, couples gazed up at the flying dinosaurs strung from the ceiling, little kids zipped between the legs of passer-bys. I wondered why people would spend their free time here.

"Dude, can I borrow a light?"

I snapped my head up to see two boys, around our age, standing beside the table. They were both tall, dressed in denim jackets and very similar in looks; narrow noses with high cheekbones and dark curling hair.

I had been too busy watching the crowd to see them approach us. I looked up at the boy closest to my chair to see him staring down my V-neck tee. The guy next to him was giving Rouge a similar look.

"Yeah, they're called boobs," I said in a sarcastic and slow voice. John laughed, as did Rouge and Bobby.

The guy frowned as he moved his eyes from my chest to John.

"Can I borrow a light?" he repeated.

John just laughed and flicked the small silver lighter in his hand. I normally would have told him to just give the guy a light and stop being a jerk but I didn't feel like being nice to the guy still shooting glances at my rack.

"My brother asked you a simple question," the taller one said with annoyance.

"Why you being such a dick?" the other one asked.

"Yeah," the taller one said, "why you being such a dick?"

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

John laughed again. "Because I can."

"Can I have a light?" the guy repeated slowly but more aggressively.

John looked away from the guy to the small lighter in his hand. He flicked it open and I watched the fire dance in the reflection of his eyes. He was literally fascinated by the element and his lighter. He never went anywhere without that lighter because that was his connection to his mutation. Right now he could only manipulate fire, not create it. Without that lighter, he couldn't use his mutation and he hated that. But with it near, he felt like he was king and it showed.

There had been some animosity between us for a little while as, unlike him, I could create fire. I didn't know why I could when I had only mimicked his mutation. And he couldn't, even though it was _his_ mutation. But only a day after touching him, fire sprang to life in my hands without help. The envy had been clear in his eyes that day and even now sometimes I caught a look of longing and jealousy. I couldn't blame him for feeling that way. Someone had come along, mimicked his mutation and could use it better than him. But to continue our new friendship, he hadn't mentioned it again and I didn't use the mutation in front of him. I didn't use it at all for that matter.

John studied his lighter before he flipped it shut and smirked at the boys. "Sorry, can't help you out pal."

"John, knock it off," Rouge said.

John was too busy chuckling to hear her.

"Why don't you stop showing off?" Bobby asked as he slipped his hand into Rouge's.

John raised his eyebrows. "Oh for her? I can't help it if your girlfriend's getting excited."

Bobby rolled his eyes. "I don't think she's getting excited."

"No one's getting excited," I said sarcastically.

John sighed. "All right, all right. We're just trying to have a good time."

Bobby's tone conveyed his rising anger. "I think you're the only one having a good time."

Boy was that true. No one else got joy out of teasing two random boys. Yet John found it hilarious to laugh and taunt them, a perfect example of why I would never reciprocated his feelings.

Suddenly a hand shot out and grabbed the lighter from John's hand.

"Hey!" John yelled.

The taller bother smirked as he placed a cigarette between his lips and lit it up using John's lighter. The other brother pushed John back as he shot out of his chair and tried to go at the guy.

"That's real cute man," he spat, eyeing the guy over his brother's shoulder.

"What are you gunna do?" he challenged. The guy slipped the cigarette out of his mouth and sent a cloud of smoke towards John. "Suddenly you're not so tough."

Oh bad move. No one goaded John without him retaliating. Sure enough, the moment the guy put the cigarette back in his mouth, the end suddenly sparked. Small flames shot out and caught the sleeve of his jacket. He shrieked, dropped the cigarette and began swatting at the flames. The people around us began yelling.

He tripped over his own feet and crashed to the floor, knocking down a table on the way. John laughed as if he wasn't watching a boy scream in horror. Without thinking about the fact that we were in a crowded room of normal humans, I jumped out of my chair as threw my hand out towards the boy. A blast of arctic wind shot out of my hand. Suddenly a second blast of freezing wind hit the guy's sleeve. I looked over to see Bobby's hand outstretched, having the same idea as I did.

We dropped our hands and watched the guy, with half of his face covered with frost, look at us like we were aliens. And to him and all other humans, we were. The people around us were still screaming but now they were screaming because of us.

I had just begun wondering how the hell we were going to get out of this one when the world around us froze. Literally. All the screams silenced as the frightened humans stopped moving. I looked around wildly, finding Bobby, Rouge and John with similar expressions of confusion. We were the only people still moving.

"Bobby, what did you do?" Rouge asked as she stepped closer to a frozen woman who had been in the middle of a scream.

"I didn't do this," Bobby answered.

Rouge looked to me. "Morgan?"

I shook my head. "I didn't."

"No. I did."

Oh crap.

Where the hell had he come from? He had definitely not been on our school bus.

And we were definitely in trouble. It was one thing to skip out during a school trip to a museum. It was another thing to show everyone in said museum that you were a total freak. Yeah, we were definitely going to pay for this one. Part of me wanted to say it wasn't my fault, that it was John's. But then I remembered he was a friend and no one likes a dibber dobber.

I bit my lip as I watched the Professor glide towards us. While most of me was worrying about the trouble I was about to get into, some small part of my brain was wondering how on earth the Professor had stopped time. His mutation was to do with minds and stuff so how was he stopping time?

A thought bloomed so suddenly in my mind that I was sure the Professor had put it there. He wasn't stopping time. He was stopping the minds of all the humans here. That would explain why the clock on the wall was still ticking and the TV was still playing.

That thought disappeared when the Professor stopped in front of us. I waited, listening to my heart pounding in my ears, for what was to come next.

"And the next time you feel like showing off," he said, "don't."

He directed the words to us all but I could feel them being aimed more so towards John.

None of us spoke. I was a bit embarrassed as I watched every student look at us. I wondered if that was all he was going to say. Surely there was more to come?

"Breaking news."

All eyes flew to the TV on the wall.

"We're live from Washington where there's been an attack in the Oval Office of the White House," the TV reporter said. "Details are still coming in but we have been informed that the President and Vice President were not harmed. Sources say the attack involved one or more mutants."

"I think it's time to leave Professor," Scott said.

"I think you're right."

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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own X-Men.  
Please leave a review :) I love reading them all

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**Logan POV:**

One month.

One month and nothing.

The cold of the snow was biting into every bit of my flesh exposed to the weather, but my body was hardly registering the pain. My mind was too busy taking in the fact that the whole trip had been a waste. Nothing was here.

The Professor had said there wasn't going to be much left here and he had been right. The decaying ruins of what had once been here was covered in a layer of snow. There was nothing left here to show what might have happened to me all those years ago.

I was an idiot to think that coming here would suddenly make me remember my past. I should just accept the fact that nothing is going to spark a memory and bring it all back. It's gone, lost forever.

Just like it had been gone when I went to the house I had once lived in with Kayla. The empty house, sitting on top of a rugged mountain range, had failed to remind me of anything. I had lived there with the woman I had loved but without my memories, it was a stranger's house. I drove along roads that were once familiar to me, watched men cutting down trees where I once worked. Kayla's letter to Morgan had described all of these things that had once been a part of my life; things that had once meant something to me. Now, with no memory of them, they meant nothing.

I had nothing.

No. I reminded myself that wasn't true. I had Morgan.

There were still a few moments when I forgot what she was and it would hit me in the face. I had a daughter.

I was going to see her soon. Not a lot of things scared me but that thought did. I had no effing clue how to be a dad. I had never wanted to be one. Even when I had dreamed about the life I had before I lost my memories, a kid hadn't been in that picture. But I couldn't ignore the fact that I had one now. And although I had only spent a few weeks with her, she seemed like a good kid. I could've gotten worse.

What was I suppose to do now? Get a job and buy a house? Ain't my style. My life on the road with my caravan hadn't been the prettiest but it had been all I needed. Beer, cigars, fights and money. Somehow I didn't think Morgan would want to travel from town to town, watching her father fight every night for money. I could just leave her at the school and continue with my life, forget about her.

No. Even as that thought passed through my head, I pushed it away. She'd had a hard enough life already, maybe even worse than mine. Every time I thought about what she had been through in the orphanage, I wanted to maim someone. I hated knowing that she had been constantly physically and mentally abused over the years while I had been drinking and fighting off in some dingy bar. She was my daughter and I was suppose to protect her. That was what fathers were meant to do, even if I was scared of being a father.

I loved her and I told her I would come back for her and I would. But what happens after that?

I told her I wanted to get to know her and I did. But I was scared; an emotion I wasn't use to and didn't like.

Looking at these ruins, I realised this was my past.

I fished the motorcycle keys out of my pocket and turned away, towards my future.

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**Morgan POV**

My dream from last night was running through my mind.

The details of it were slipping away like sand through fingers. The harder I tried to remember, the more I forgot. But I needed to remember. I didn't know why but it felt important.

The only part of the dream I held onto with clarity was the image of my father staring at me with tears in his eyes.

I sighed and fished out from beneath my shirt the dog tags which hadn't left my neck for a month. I stared at them, running my thumb over the word 'Wolverine'. I wondered where he was. The last phone call had been 2 days ago. He had told me he was in Canada, heading towards Alkali Lake.

Every time he called, I tried to keep the sadness out of my voice. I didn't want him to hear how desperate I was for him to come back. Our relationship was still new and developing and I didn't want to do anything to damage it, like dragging him back here. This school wasn't for him, I knew that. He couldn't become an X-Man or teach Maths. The only thing bringing him back here is me.

And as much as I loved my dad, I knew I belonged at this school. At least for now. But he doesn't.

So I don't think either of us know what is going to happen or where we will end up.

"Hey."

Rouge flopped down on the couch next to me, a big grin on her face. Bobby must be nearby.

"Hey," I responded.

"You alright?" she asked, eyeing the dog tags I was fiddling with.

"Yeah."

"You just miss him." It wasn't a question.

We had had a few conversations about Logan but Rouge had only met him once and didn't really understand what I was going through.

"Yeah. I know we only spent a few weeks together before he left but I really miss him."

"I don't get why he left. I mean, you're his kid. He shouldn't have just left. I don't get it. I would be angry if he was my dad."

"I'm not angry. I understand why he had to go. Imagine having no memories. Just waking up one day, blank, not knowing who you are or where you've come from. Imagine living 17 years like that. Both the Professor and I gave him huge chunks of his past. He needed to go to these places to see if they might trigger his memory. I would do the same thing." And that was the truth. Yeah, he knew about his past now but being told about it and remembering it were two very different things.

Rouge bit her lip and gave me a look one might give to an ignorant child. "But it's been a month. Aren't you worried he's not coming back?"

Honestly, I would be lying if I said that thought hadn't crossed my mind. But I believed in Logan. I knew he was just visiting all the places that had once met something to him, and my mother. And then he was going to come back, just like he promised. I didn't care if it took him ten years. He would come back.  
"No," was all I said.

Rouge opened her mouth to say something when Bobby walked into the room. Immediately, her eyes shone and she grinned. "I'll talk to you later."

She jumped off the couch and ran over to Bobby. I watched as Bobby whispered something in her ear. She giggled and they ran out of the room together. Sometimes I found myself annoyed when she does that, ditching me suddenly for Bobby but right now I didn't mind. I wanted to time to think.

"God. If they could touch, I think they'd be going at it 24/7."

I couldn't help myself; I laughed. John grinned as he sat beside me. I looked at the open door they had left through.

"Yeah, but I do feel a bit sorry for them."

I looked back at him to see him shrug. As I watched him pull out his lighter, I stared at his face, wondering if he ever felt any emotions for other people. I was tempted to ask him but knew that wasn't a good idea.

"Do you want to-"

My mind was hearing words coming out of John's mouth but not processing what they were. Instead, I was listening to the roar of the engine I hadn't heard in a month. Could he really be back? He hadn't said anything about when he would come back.

"Morgan?" John asked.

"Sorry, what?" I asked, trying to give John some of my attention.

"I said did you want to see a movie sometime?"

A movie. With John. Okay, I hadn't been around boys a lot but even I knew that was hinting towards a date. I had no idea how to tell John I wasn't interested in him in that way.

I opened my mouth, not really sure what I was going to say, when I caught a faint scent. I locked eyes with John. I could feel myself grinning from ear to ear. He's back! Without giving John a second thought, I leapt off the couch and ran for the door.

There he was standing in the foyer, in the exact spot I had watched him leave a month ago.

"Dad!"

I ran up to him, instantly pulling him into a hug. I couldn't describe the feelings that washed over me as I felt his arms close around me. I breathed in his warm scent and listened to the steady thud of his heartbeat. His hug made everything niggling in the back of my mind melt away. Everything was okay now.

"You miss me kid?" he asked as I pulled back.

I looked up into his face, glad to see happiness in his eyes. I was surprised at how good he looked considering he'd been travelling from town to town.

"Hmm, not really," I said with faked nonchalance. My grin betrayed my tone.

"How you doing?"

I wondered how to answer that question. The past month had been one of the best times of my life. The horrors I faced at the orphanage seemed like a distant memory here. No one yelled or screamed at you here for getting an answer wrong. They didn't hit you for speaking out of turn. Even though I still got weird looks from the other kids, I felt at home here. I could be myself. I didn't have to be ashamed and hide my mutation. Classes were okay, my grades were average, I had friends. Life was great. But it had been missing my dad. Until now.

I decided to keep it simple. "I'm okay. You?"

Dad shrugged as his answer. "Who's this?" He nodded his head to someone standing behind me.

I turned around to see John standing there. I had been so distracted by dad's arrival that even with my super hearing I had failed to hear him approach. I made a mental note to keep distractions to a minimum if I wanted to be alert at all times.

"Oh, this is John. He's a friend," I said. I smiled, trying to disguise my confusion. Why the hell would John come out here to meet my dad? I didn't see Bobby or Rouge here introducing themselves.

"It's Pyro," John corrected as he briefly shook hands with him.

Dad eyed John before looking to me. "Friend huh?"

Oh God. I suddenly had a horrible image form in my head of dad interrogating John about our friendship right there in the foyer. I hadn't known my dad for long but I had been sure he wasn't one of those protective, watchful dads that never let their teenage daughter date. Not that I was even interested in dating John! I realized things like this were going to happen often until we learnt more about each other.

Dad was looking at me, waiting for me to say something. Luckily I was saved by the appearance of Storm.

"Look who's come back," she said as she descended the steps into the foyer. "And just in time."

Dad raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"We need a babysitter." Storm came to stand beside our little group with a smile.

Babysitter? Why would the students need a babysitter? The only reason that sprung to mind was that all of the teachers and the Professor were going somewhere and needed someone to stay for the kids. But why would all of the teachers need to leave?

"Babysitter?" Dad questioned.

"It's nice to see you again Logan."

Did she not want to talk about X-Men stuff in front of John and me? Probably.

"Hi Logan."

All of us looked up to see Jean grinning down at dad. I bit the inside of my lip. Jean had never been my favourite teacher, especially after kids had made up a rumour that she and dad had the hots for each other, despite the fact that she was in a relationship with Cyclopes.

"Hi Jean."

"I should go and get the jet ready," Storm said. She spun around, her white hair flying around her.

"Ummm..." I said, suddenly awkward as Jean smiled at dad. "I'll talk to you later dad."

I couldn't decipher the look on dad's face. All he said was "ok".

I retreated upstairs with John on my heels. I wondered what dad would make of that, if he could tear his eyes away from Jean.

I was suddenly struck with a thought of genius. But I needed to get rid of John. Luckily it was looking like he wanted to disappear.

"Ah, see you later," he said before speed walking off down the hall. I watched him go, listening to the rapid beating of his heart. Not good. I put my thoughts of John aside as I focused on the sounds of conversation I was picking up.

"Storm and I are heading to Boston," Jean was saying. "We won't be gone long. The Professor wants us to track down the mutant who attacked the president."

So that's what Storm and Jean were heading off to do. Where was Cyclopes and the Professor going to then?

"So it was a mutant?"

Pause.

"You'll be here when we get back. Unless you plan on running off again?"

"I can probably think of a few reasons to stick around."

_Oh really?_ I suddenly thought. _And what would they be?_

I couldn't stand here and listen to this any longer.

Flopping down on my bed, I wondered if dad and Jean were still talking. Surely he would want to come and talk to me? I had assumed he had come back for me, but maybe he'd come back for another reason? I hadn't believed those stupid rumours some of the kids started. I hadn't seen any sign of dad having feelings for Jean. But then again, back then I had avoided him, gotten kidnapped and been unconscious for 3 days. Maybe something _had_ happened while I hadn't been around?

That thought filled me with some anger and resentment. I didn't want to sound like a whiner but I had just found my dad and wanted to spend all the time I could with him but he was downstairs with Jean!

_Stop it_. If I wanted to have a relationship with my father, I had to let him have his own life and do what he wanted. Even if what he wanted to do was flirt with a woman who was supposed to be in a relationship.

I was interrupted from my brooding when someone entered the room. I raised my arms, which had been shielding the sunlight glaring across the room, to see Rouge entering. I lowered my arms back over my eyes.

"Morgan." There was surprise in her tone, like she didn't know why I was sitting in our room. "Uh...you know your dad's here, right?"

I laughed. "Yeah, I know."

"Oh. I just thought you'd be...you know, wanting to spend some time with him now that he's back." I listened to her voice move across the room.

"I'll catch up with him later."

"Oh."

I'm sure she was wondering why this morning I had been all gung-ho defending him and now wasn't even trying to see him. I didn't feel like explaining everything so I just stayed silent. I was glad when she didn't pester me for details.

My mind wondered off as I listened Rouge move around the room doing various things. I was glad I had learnt how to tune down my super hearing.

Eventually I drifted off. I was hovering on the edge of deep sleep when an image flashed suddenly in my mind. It was so clear, so realistic.

It was night. Wind was whipping my hair around my face. Standing in front of me, shirtless, was my father. As I watched, the skin on his face and chest burnt away, only to be immediately healed, over and over. The anguish and pain on his face chilled me to the core. Tears flooded his eyes as he spoke, but his words were lost in the wind. A moment passed. A flash of silver brought my attention to his knuckles. Pain. Pain ripped through my stomach.

I threw myself upright in bed, gasping for air. I clawed at my throat, sending me into a coughing fit. Tears gathered in my eyes as I finally took in a deep breath. I put my hand to my chest, feeling the rapid thumping of my heart.

It wasn't real. It couldn't be. My mind had been on the verge of sleep and had popped that thought into my head. Dad would never, _never_ hurt me. It had been a dream.

But something wasn't right. Even as I told myself not to worry about it, I worried. I had never had a dream feel so real. It had been too real. _Something wasn't right_.

I glanced around the room, glad to find it empty. I sat on the edge of my bed for ten minutes, waiting for my heart to slow and trying to rid my head of the image of my father stabbing me. It was a dream, I told myself over and over. I was hoping if I said it enough, I would begin to believe it.

I needed fresh air.

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